‘John Wick 4’ breaks records with its arrival in theaters: the Keanu Reeves film exceeds expectations

The return of John Wick has returned to theaters around the world in a dizzying way. The fourth installment of the saga produced by Lionsgate has swept the world box office this weekend, with the best opening of the $73.5 million franchise in North American theaters and a staggering 137.5 million worldwide. The action title led by Keanu Reeves debuted at number one in the 71 international markets that were projected this weekend, culminating in earnings of 64 million abroad and exceeding all pre-launch estimates. So yeah, we’re thinking he’s back.

In addition to the good reviews, this successful launch of ‘John Wick 4’ is also thanks to an impressive marketing campaign and the results are visible to all. Audiences raved about the film, it drove huge numbers of people to theaters and earned the film an A on the web CinemaScore, also the best in the franchise. As far as criticism is concerned, this latest installment, which offered a show on the big screen that only Mr. Wick can offer. The film boasts an impressive score on Rotten Tomatoes as well.

‘John Wick 4’, which also stars on the March cover of PICTURES, started the weekend taking 8.9 million in previews on Thursday and another 29.4 million last Friday, leading to predictions for a first weekend of more than 70 million, the best in the franchise that Reeves has done together with director Chad Stahelski and a support from the great cast.

The film is the ninth in the last four decades to set a franchise record with its fourth installment, and of those nine films, John Wick: Chapter 4 is among the five that have followed the trend of eclipsing the box office success of its predecessor. ‘John Wick’ opened with 14 million, John Wick: Blood Pact’ got 30.4 million and ‘John Wick Parabellum’ took 56.8 million. The records for this quarter of action also extend outside the franchise, becoming the largest R-rated opening post-pandemic, thwarting the return of ‘Halloween Kills’ in 2021 with 49.4 million. In 2023, it has only been surpassed by one other premiere in its home country. We are talking about a Marvel title, of course, with ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, which obtained a return of 106.1 million dollars.

In this installment, the franchise’s best opening, joining Reeves is an all-star supporting cast that includes Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, and the late, great Lance Reddick.